Paola Calvo | Film Festival Today

SXSW Review: “Luchadoras” Showcases the Brave Female Wrestlers of the Dangerous Ciudad Juárez in Their Fight Against Femicide

March 16, 2021

TIFF Review: “I’m Still Here”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 9, 2024
I’m Still Here (Walter Salles, 2024) 4 out of 5 stars Brazil’s military dictatorship lasted 21 years, from 1964-1985. Starting in the 1970s, the government began to crack down with greater force than before on the voices of dissent, or even just on those perceived to potentially offer resistance. Many such unfortunates were “disappeared,” their bodies never to be recovered. If you wonder why today’s Brazil has reacted more strongly ... >>
TIFF Review: “Temporary Shelter”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 7, 2024
Temporary Shelter (Anastasiia Bortuali, 2024) 4 out of 5 stars Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to widespread trauma inside the latter country, once linked to its larger neighbor through empire. Actually, the first large-scale Slavic state was centered in Kiev (now the capital of Ukraine), though in the centuries following the downfall of Kievan Rus the power shifted East, to Moscow, with a switch West to St. Petersburg under Tsar Peter ... >>
TIFF Review: “Mistress Dispeller”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 6, 2024
Mistress Dispeller (Elizabeth Lo, 2024) 4 out of 5 stars There is a profession in China known as a “mistress dispeller,” where the role is to end a romantic affair that a husband is having outside of marriage. If done well, the business is concluded without undue drama, though feelings will most certainly be hurt. In her eponymously titled documentary, director Elizabeth Lo (Stray) follows one such case, taking the viewer from start to finish, ... >>
TIFF Review: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 5, 2024
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Mohammad Rasoulof, 2024) 4 out of 5 stars It’s one thing to suffer for your art; it’s something else entirely to put your life and freedom on the line. Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof (There Is No Evil) was sentenced to 8 years in prison, with flogging on top of that, for his latest movie, The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Fortunately, he managed to escape the country for Europe, where he now resides in exile. It seems ... >>
“Out Come the Wolves” Satisfies
By Adam Vaughn
August 29, 2024
Out Come the Wolves (Adam MacDonald, 2024) 3½ out of 5 stars Nothing says the great outdoors like being attacked by a group of hungry, territorial wolves. Such is the catalyst for Adam MacDonald’s Out Come the Wolves, which profiles a struggle for survival in the wilderness between a newly engaged couple Sophie (Missy Peregrym, CBS’ FBI series) and Nolan (Damon Runyan, A Royal Date for Christmas), and Sophie’s childhood friend, Kyle (Joris ... >>

10 Films to See at TIFF 2024
September 3, 2024
The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF) ...>>
That’s a Wrap at DC/DOX 2024
June 19, 2024
As advertised in my curtain raiser last week, I ...>>
Five Films to See at DC/DOX 2024
June 12, 2024
DC/DOX returns for Round 2, running June 13-16 in its ...>>
Five Films to See at Tribeca 2024
June 5, 2024
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival will take place from ...>>
In Memoriam: Morgan Spurlock
May 27, 2024
When I heard about the passing of documentarian Morgan ...>>